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Any conversation related to taxes is likely to be heated, and the discussion over aviation user fees is no exception. This week, the House Committee on Small Business conducted a hearing titled "User Fees in the Aviation Industry: Turbulence Ahead." It was focused on the financial and regulatory impact of user fees on the aviation industry.

The current administration’s “fair share” proposal for user fees is nothing new (see video below). The Bush administration considered it, and now that it surfaced again, the voices in opposition are even louder. Interestingly, the airlines, not typically a friend of general aviation, have joined in the chorus. That’s because the White House plan would add a new $100 departure tax – disguised as a fee – to all airline flights, and the existing $2.50 passenger security tax per one-way trip would double in 2012 and triple by 2017.

According to the nation's airlines trade association, Airlines for America, a coalition of nearly 30 organizations including the airlines, general and business aviation, manufacturers, consumers and labor organizations – groups that are often at odds with each other — are standing united in opposing the latest proposal for user fees. The coalition is sending a unified message to Congress and it reads, “No new taxes.”

What may be misunderstood is that no one is saying “we shouldn’t pay.” The fury is over the way to pay, and the consensus is that user fees are not the way to go. “Pay at the pump” through higher excise taxes on aviation fuel is the efficient and equitable answer.

Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), is particularly outspoken about the issue. NBAA is a trade association representing 9,000 members that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. Here’s what he had to say:

“A proposal is being promoted in Washington that would establish a new “$100 per-flight user tax” on turbine-powered general aviation. There is a better way. Nobody enjoys paying taxes, and nobody wants to pay more in taxes than absolutely necessary. The general aviation industry is no exception; but some tax systems are better than others — much better.

General aviation fuel taxes are the best way for the industry to contribute necessary revenues to federal coffers. Fuel taxes are easy to pay, efficient to collect, simple to understand, environmentally friendly, and directly related to use of the system. And because they are adjustable, Congress can raise or lower fuel taxes in order to meet its revenue targets.

A new “per-departure” user fee tax would require the creation of a costly new federal billing and collection bureaucracy — a “SKY-R-S” — to administer. It would also impose a significant administrative burden on individuals and small businesses that would suddenly have to process invoices, fight erroneous bills and establish new record-keeping systems. Per-flight user taxes have been tried in other countries and they have proven to be enormously destructive to general aviation. Don’t start them here.

General aviation is a significant American industry that generates 1.2 million jobs and $150 billion in economic activity. It is one of the few U.S. industries that contribute positively to our nation’s balance of trade. Moreover, general aviation brings much-needed economic development to thousands of communities with little or no scheduled airline service, helps companies of all sizes to be efficient and productive and provides important humanitarian relief in times of crisis. Unfortunately, the Great Recession decimated this essential American industry, and it has still not fully recovered.

Now is not the time to pile a second tax system onto the general aviation industry — particularly since the fuel tax system is established, supported and can be adjusted. Remember: "Fuel taxes work; per-flight user taxes destroy.”